Gecarcinus quadratus

Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Crustaceans (Subphylum Crustacea)

• Typical Crustaceans (Superclass Multicrustacea)

• Malacostracans (Class Malacostraca)

• Decapods, Isopods, and Allies (Subclass Eumalacostraca)

• Decapods and Krill (Superorder Eucarida)

• Decapods (Order Decapoda)

• Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, and Allies (Suborder Pleocyemata)

Red Land Crabs (Gecarcinus quadratus) are found in mangroves, sand dunes, and rainforests along the Eastern Pacific coast from Mexico south to Panama. Adults have a pair of largely purple claws, redish-orange legs, and a dark carapace with a pair of yellow, orangespots behind the eyes, and an additional pair of whitish spots on the central-lower carapace. It lives in the forest for much of its adult life, but will return to the ocean to breed. They are largely herbivorous, and consume leaf litter and young plants.